Blessed By Silence

          I've had to deal with some tough issues over the past couple of weeks. I'll spare you the details, because they really don't matter. Suffice it to say that I've had multiple opportunities to engage in difficult conversations with several close friends, and a few interesting strangers as well. In the course of that process, I discovered that each time that I and/or the other person struggled to come up with some clear-cut answers to our questions, I was inevitably left with a sour taste in my mouth and a dissatisfied feeling in my heart.

      On the other hand, in those instances when we were willing to spend  time listening to each other and to the silence simmering within us, the experience was much more satisfying. 

      What follows is a poem I wrote to help clarify the way this process works for me, with hopes that you might find it helpful, too. 

The Space Between Our Words

 

Sitting together in silence

my heart opens to yours, your heart opens to mine

and together we open to Spirit

allowing it to shine in ways we can't imagine,

but are willing to discover

 

It's tempting to back off

to start talking about other, easier subjects

the weather, the job, the score of last night's game

the kids, the same old same

 

Instead

we lean into the silence, again and again

listening, sifting, praying,

staying in the space between our words

while working from the inside out

 

Doubts come and go  

Fear stops by to say hello

Hope pokes his head out, spies his shadow

then crawls back into his hole to wait for better weather

 

And still we sit in silence,

focused on an unspoken promise

 

In the darkness, a candle is lit by unseen hands

you and I are fed 

hunger subsides, and new options appear

more or less clearly

We give thanks

get in our separate cars

zoom off into traffic

moving in different directions

feeling fresh and ready for whatever comes next.

 

With gratitude and blessings,

          Rudi